Search Engine Optimization
What is this SEO all about?
Well, you and some other hundreds of thousands of people are wondering about the same thing.
But actually doing search engine optimization its not that difficult, it is about getting your website into the so called “organic search” results of the Search Engines, that's it!
You can have long discussions on how to do it, but the final results will be the same, getting ranked among the Top 10 Results of the keyword search you think your public will look for and then find the information you are providing!
Ok, let's read that again….
Results? That means the Search Engine Results Page.
Top 10? Most people who use Search Engines won't go further than the first page….
Silly people…they should know that you are on page 1267 of Google, so want don't they just look there?
The Most Important Part of Search Engine Optimization
Keyword you think?
This is actually the most important and hardest part of Search Engine Optimization…
Get into the mindset of the audience you want to get to your site, think like them, dress like them, eat like them, work like them, live like them, and finally Search Like Them!
If you can only manage the last part, you are on the right track!
Find those keywords that your potential visitors are looking for via Keyword tools like Google's Keyword Planner Tool. Once you found them get started by targeting them in your search engine optimization and content plan.
And If you are wondering if a Content Management System like Joomla or WordPress can do this?
I can tell you now, right here, YES they can!
Starting a Content Plan and Site Structure
Your site structure is one of the most important assets when it comes to ranking in the search engines. You site structure should reflect the topic of your website.
For example a website with WordPress as it's main topic should have at least these site topics:
- WordPress Themes or WordPress Templates
- WordPress Plugins
- WordPress Tutorials
- WordPress Blog and/or WordPress Website
For a site about Joomla! those topics could be:
- Joomla Templates
- Joomla Tutorials
- How To Install Joomla
- Joomla Components / Extensions
WordPress Website Structure
Setting those basic content structure in WordPress is done via Post Categories.
Got to Posts -> Categories and create the categories that you would like to write about on your site.
Once you have done that create a WordPress Menu (Apprearance -> Menu -> Create New menu) give your menu a name and save it. After saving you can add categories to it in a way you like and would help your visitors.
Once saved you can place is as one of the sites primary or secondary navigation menu or as a custom menu widget in your sidebar.
Joomla Website Structure
In Joomla you can do the same as mentioned before, create the categories structure for your website.
Because of the way Joomla is build it just takes more steps to have your topics menu.
Go to Content -> Category Manager -> Add New Category.
Once you set-up the categories you add them to a menu.
First create a New menu via the menu manager.
Add the categories in a way you want them to be shown on the site (Blog layout, List or Page with all categories of you choice listed).
Then publish the menu module on the location you want it to appear on the site. See blow for a finished menu example.
Creating Content for SEO
Now that you have your basic structure set-up start writing your content and keep your main topics in mind.
You can now easily place your articles in their respective categories. While creating your content also think about writing compelling articles titles and meta descriptions.
Your titles are you most powerful tools for attract visitors to you site as they will be shown in the search results pages. A good title will want the searcher to click on it to read the article you created.
A good meta description might help to get theme to read more… Just make sure you deliver or over-deliver on the topic that your articles is about.
Now you are set to grow your rankings based on your site structure and you can get some ideas for your website articles based on that structure.
Do you have any ideas on your own about the above mentioned SEO set-up? Let me know in the comments section below!
“Silly people they should know that you are on page 1267 of Google, so want don’t they just look there?”
That’s funny.